The mother whose son overdosed at the age of 20 said she believed he would be alive today if the bill Gov. Dannel P. Malloy signed Friday had been in place in 2013.

Sue Kruczek of Guilford fought back tears as she talked about how her son’s battle with addiction. Her son was tossed a little white pill by a teammate before his first high school hockey game and that’s where his addiction “innocently” started.

The availability of prescription drugs, which have fueled the opioid epidemic in the state, will be limited under the legislation Malloy signed Friday.

The bill places a 7-day cap on opioid prescriptions in an effort to rein in what many called the “over-prescribing” of painkillers. There is an exception clause included in the bill for those receiving long-term prescriptions from their doctors allowing them to exceed the 7-day cap.

The legislation also requires first responders to be trained in the use of Narcan and to carry and dispense it. The drug is injected into patients to counter the effects of opioid and heroin overdoses.